Editorial: Lap-Bands lazy

Lap-Bands are sexier than lap dances. Oh wait — no they’re not.

According to USA Today, “About 12 million more obese Americans could soon qualify for surgery to implant a small, flexible stomach band designed to help them lose weight by dramatically limiting their food intake.”

Lazy much?

The Lap-Bands are currently available only to morbidly obese patients with a body mass index of 40 or higher and those with a BMI of 35 or higher with a related health problem, such as high blood pressure.

The procedure — which, according to USA Today, has been available in the U.S. since 2001 —. involves the placement of a ring over the top of the stomach. The ring inflates with saline to restrict how much food can enter the stomach.

The procedure is an alternative to gastric bypass surgery and is reversible and relatively low risk.

A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers recently recommended expanding the use of the bands to less obese patients. The proposal seeks to lower the BMI requirement to 35 or higher, or 30 with a related health problem.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI of 30 is not far from what the CDC considers normal.

While we recognize that the procedure might benefit some individuals, for the most part it seems like a lazy solution.

We at The Pitt News are against lowering the BMI standards for Lap-Band procedures.

For one thing, expanding the use of Lap-Bands actually might not do much to decrease the country’s overwhelming obesity rates.

In a paper on the relationship between poverty and obesity from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Adam Drewnowski found that a healthy diet was out of reach for many Americans — playing a major part in the country’s obesity epidemic.

The pricey cost of the Lap-Band surgery — around $14,000 to $20,000, according to USA Today — would surely be unattainable for many of the obese people that can’t even afford healthy food.

In addition, treating the symptoms of the obesity epidemic — instead of the cause — doesn’t seem like a good approach.

“Experts stress that the Lap-Band cannot stop deeply ingrained behavior that drives people to overeat,” USA Today reports. Without a change in behavior, it is unlikely that surgery alone will benefit recipients of the surgery in the long run.

The real solution to obesity is not a procedure, but rather some sort of change in health education.

Ultimately, a band around your stomach won’t necessarily help Americans achieve a healthy lifestyle — even if they do end up losing weight.

After all, weight loss is easily achieved in unhealthy ways but it is not a true measure of health.